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Purpose: This review aimed to summarize and map the existing literature to clarify the temporal and spatial distribution, interconnections, and emerging trends in Intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) research. Patients and methods: Bibliographic records were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and PubMed database. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to visualize the publication landscape, analyze citation patterns and collaborative networks, and conduct cluster analysis, burst keyword detection, and timeline mapping. Results: A total of 1,449 publications from WoSCC and 648 publications from PubMed were included in analysis, representing contributions from 72 countries, 6,908 authors, and 365 journals. In recent years, authors from Asian countries and journals focusing on clinical nutrition have shown rapid growth. We identified 11 thematic clusters and 67 burst keywords from WoSCC publications, indicating a shift in research focus toward early identification, early functional rehabilitation, and nutritional support. External validation of the research topics and trends in PubMed database yielded results consistent with the preliminary analysis. Conclusion: Over the past two decades, research on ICU-AW has expanded steadily, with increasing contributions from East Asia and nutrition- and neuromuscular-focused journals, while Europe, North America, and critical care publications continue to dominate. A total of 11 major research clusters were identified, encompassing the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and prognosis of ICU-AW. These findings map the evolution of research themes and may help identify emerging directions and generate hypotheses for future studies.
He et al. (Wed,) studied this question.